Wind Turbine Payback in Indiana County, PA
Wind turbine payback in Indiana County
No. The turbine wears out before it pays for itself.
At 30 m, the height a home turbine tower usually reaches, the wind in Indiana County, PA averages 3.57 m/s (8 mph). A 10 kW turbine there would make about 4,612 kWh a year, worth $974 at PA's 21.13¢/kWh. Against an installed cost of about $100,000, that is a payback of over 100 years, and the turbine is built to last about 20.
What to do in Indiana County
A home turbine is not worth buying for savings in Indiana County unless your spot is far windier than the county average, 6.5 m/s at the hub against 3.57 m/s here. Per kW, solar panels would make about 1,086 kWh a year here against the turbine's 461, so get a solar quote first.
What would have to change
- Power would have to cost 108¢/kWh, 5.1 times what PA pays now.
- Or the average wind at the hub would have to be 6.5 m/s instead of 3.57. A taller tower or an exposed ridge can add some of that; a rooftop never will.
Against the rest of PA
Indiana County is the 2,441st windiest of 3,144 US counties at turbine height; the national middle is 4.79 m/s. The windiest in PA is Philadelphia County at 4.74 m/s, payback 44 years.
Month by month in Indiana County
January is the strongest month here, at 4.43 m/s and about 756 kWh. August is the weakest, 2.65 m/s and 142 kWh, so the best month makes 5.3 times the worst. November to March brings in 62% of the year's output in Indiana County.
| Month | Wind at 30 m | Output | Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4.43 m/s | 756 kWh | $160 |
| February | 4.47 m/s | 704 kWh | $149 |
| March | 4.19 m/s | 645 kWh | $136 |
| April | 4.03 m/s | 551 kWh | $116 |
| May | 3.31 m/s | 305 kWh | $64 |
| June | 2.96 m/s | 204 kWh | $43 |
| July | 2.71 m/s | 154 kWh | $33 |
| August | 2.65 m/s | 142 kWh | $30 |
| September | 2.91 m/s | 191 kWh | $40 |
| October | 3.42 m/s | 340 kWh | $72 |
| November | 3.74 m/s | 438 kWh | $93 |
| December | 4.06 m/s | 584 kWh | $123 |
What a taller tower would buy
Measured at 10 m the wind in Indiana County averages 2.21 m/s; at 50 m it is 4.46 m/s. That gives a shear exponent of 0.436, typical of rough, sheltered ground: trees or buildings slow the low wind a lot. Going from 20 m to 50 m takes output from 2,575 to 9,100 kWh a year, 253% more, before counting the extra cost of the taller tower. Why tower height decides it explains the shear behind these numbers.
| Hub height | Average wind | Output | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 m | 2.99 m/s | 2,575 kWh | over 100 years |
| 30 m | 3.57 m/s | 4,610 kWh | over 100 years |
| 40 m | 4.05 m/s | 6,813 kWh | 70 years |
| 50 m | 4.46 m/s | 9,100 kWh | 52 years |
Counties around Indiana County
3 of the 6 closest counties are windier at turbine height; the windiest, Cambria County, averages 3.73 m/s.
- Cambria County, PA: 3.73 m/s, 5,297 kWh, payback 89 years (22 mi)
- Armstrong County, PA: 3.56 m/s, 4,570 kWh, payback over 100 years (23 mi)
- Westmoreland County, PA: 3.57 m/s, 4,612 kWh, payback over 100 years (31 mi)
- Jefferson County, PA: 3.7 m/s, 5,164 kWh, payback 92 years (34 mi)
- Clearfield County, PA: 3.7 m/s, 5,164 kWh, payback 92 years (40 mi)
- Clarion County, PA: 3.56 m/s, 4,570 kWh, payback over 100 years (42 mi)
Sun versus wind in Indiana County
Indiana County gets 3.72 kWh of sunshine per square metre a day on average. One kW of solar panels here would make roughly 1,086 kWh a year; one kW of the turbine above makes 461. Kilowatt for kilowatt, panels make 2.4 times as much here as the turbine. Panel output assumes an 80% system performance ratio. Wind or solar runs the same comparison for every county.
How this is worked out
Wind is NASA's Power climate record, the 2001-2025 average at 10 m and 50 m for the county's centre, carried to 30 m with this county's own measured wind shear and spread into hours with a Rayleigh distribution. The turbine is a generic 10 kW, 7 m rotor machine with 10% losses. Cost is $10,000 per kW installed with no tax credit, because the federal one ended in 2025. One county-centre number cannot see your hilltop or your tree line, so treat it as the starting point for a site survey, not a substitute. The full method and its weak spots are in how the numbers are made.